Norfolk, VA Police Officer Injured in Hit-and-Run Accident | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Charges are pending against a man who crashed into an off-duty police officer’s personal car in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), then fled the scene of the accident. The officer had just gone off shift and was driving through the intersection at East Virginia Beach Boulevard and Ingleside Road at around 10 pm on May 15, 2012.

The police officer required hospital treatment for injuries sustained in the crash but is expected to make a full recovery.
 

View a larger map of where a Norfolk, VA, police officer was injured in a hit-and-run accident.
 
A preliminary investigation determined that the man who struck the officer’s vehicle ran a red light. A unique twist to this hit-and-run accident story, though, is that when police apprehended the at-fault driver on Azalea Garden Road, they discovered he had been shot. The gunshot wound was not life-threatening, however, and he was patched up at the hospital. 

Besides the obvious object lessons about obeying stop signals and not leaving the scene of an accident, this crash illustrates that drivers become risks to themselves and others when they suffer medical conditions that leave them unable to concentrate and control their vehicles. “Shot” may be the ultimate distraction for a driver, but as Virginia personal injury attorneys, we also hear many stories about accidents caused by people who suffered seizures, heart attacks or other blackouts while driving.

Anyone who drives when he or she knows about an injury, illness or chronic health condition that can, or will, make him or her unsafe is being negligent. No one can use poor health as a “get out of jail free” card for escaping liability for causing a crash.
 
EJL